New Gareth L. Powell title commissioned by Solaris

“Solaris is proud to announce it has commissioned the next book from one of the most exciting new voices in science fiction, Gareth L. Powell. Ack-Ack Macaque will be published in January 2013. Based on a short story published in 2007, the author describes the story as â€˜a fusion of alternate history and gonzo cyberpunkâ€™.

In a world where France and Great Britain merged in the late 1950s, Powell has crafted an environment where nuclear-powered Zeppelins encircle the globe, electronic ghosts stalk the living, and a king lies dying; a world in which a half-brained woman struggles to solve a deadly riddle in order to regain her stolen soul, and a monkey sets about killing as many online gamers as possible, in order to avert Armageddon.

With the scale of Iain M. Banks and the intrigue of Alistair Reynolds, Powellâ€™s The Recollection was published by Solaris earlier this year and brought a stunning breath of fresh air into epic science-fiction â€“ an astounding novel about both personal human relationships and their place in the vastness of time and space.”